6 August 2016

YA Review - Frannie and Tru

Frannie and Tru

by Karen Hattrup

What the say: When Frannie Little eavesdrops on her parents fighting she discovers that her cousin Truman is gay, and his parents are so upset they are sending him to live with her family for the summer. At least, that’s what she thinks the story is. . . When he arrives, shy Frannie befriends this older boy, who is everything that she’s not–rich, confident, cynical, sophisticated. Together, they embark on a magical summer marked by slowly unraveling secrets.

What I say: I loved the drama, slow pace and often unfortunate tension between the characters in this cute YA contemporary story.

I've seen a few people mention a disconnect with the characters but I actually appreciated the distance and awkward feel. Karen Hattrup does a great job portraying the variety of problems teens face today. She tackles the potential pitfalls of first crushes, issues of gender and sexuality, religion and family in a sensitive and forthright manner.

Frannie isn't particularly likeable, but without making too great a generalisation, this can be said about a lot of teenagers. Emotions are heightened and Frannie is desperate to be liked and prove herself to Tru. I really wanted her to stand up to him and do things for herself a bit more.

Tru is Frannie's cool older cousin. She looks up to him and is thrilled when he comes to stay with her family for the summer. The tone gives a firm nod to Paper Towns and The Perks of Being a Wallflower but not in quite the same way. I also liked the analysis of the drama of The Great Gatsby, the commentary on society and levels of wickedness.

I loved the members of the band and Sparrow. I would have liked to read from Sparrow's POV, or even from the twins. I did initially think we needed to hear from Tru but the point of the books is that Tru remains something of a mystery - his POV would have removed this - sometimes the unknown is more intriguing...